Golf ball and tee setting apparatus

A unit for use in teeing a golf ball incident to driving a tee into the ground, said unit comprising in combination:

• an elongated main frame element, said frame element includes a tubular member having a U-shaped mounting bracket fixed to its lower end, a knob fixed to its upper end and a pair of aligned, axially extending guide slots formed adjacent its upper end;
• a retaining mechanism mounted adjacent a lower end of said main frame element, said mechanism including a pair of arms supported for relative movement between an adjacent retaining position and a remote releasing position, said arms having upper end and lower end portions, said upper end portions are supported by pivot pins bridging between legs of said mounting bracket and have facing cam follower surfaces, said lower end portions define recess means on facing surfaces thereof cooperating when said arms are in said retaining position for retaining a tee to extend generally coaxially with said main frame element with a head end of said tee supported by said arms and a pointed end of said tee projecting outwardly beyond said arms for insertion into the ground and for retaining a golf ball in essentially centered engagement with said head end of said tee, said lower end portions when said arms are in said retaining position limiting the extent of insertion of said pointed end of said tee into the ground by engagement with the ground, said arms when in said release position permitting said tee and golf ball to be removably inserted between said arms, and spring devices surrounding said pivot pins and engaging said arms and said mounting bracket for normally biasing said arms towards said retaining position;
• and
• handle mechanism movably carried by said main frame element for controlling movement of said arms between said retaining and releasing positions, said handle mechanism including an operating member slidably received within said tubular member, a handle fixed to an upper end of said operating member by a mounting pin slidably received within said guide slots and a foot fixed to a lower end of said operating member, said foot having a lower surface arranged to engage with said golf ball when retained between said arms for applying pressure thereto for driving said pointed end of said tee into the ground and said foot having cam surfaces arranged to slidably engage with said cam follower surfaces for moving said arms towards said releasing position against the bias of said spring devices, when said foot is moved away from said golf ball and towards said mounting bracket incident to sliding movement of said operating member within said tubular member in a direction towards said knob.